Failing a number of drug test, both for recreational and performance-enhancing substances, and pleading guilty to a felony hit-and-run, Jones seems to have put all of his troubles behind him heading into his UFC 214 rematch against archrival Daniel Cormier.
Despite almost three full years of trash talk which fueled this rivalry, making it one of the most exciting in UFC history (helped by a string of unrelated cancelations and postponements), both fighters were polite in the aftermath.
UFC 214: How can I stream Cormier v Jones 2 online? On the outside, however, doubts linger about the youngest champion in UFC history following a tumultuous couple of years.
Following the fight, “Bones” (23-1 record in MMA), was emotional about his journey, paying respect to a dejected Cormier (19-2 record in MMA) who wanted to leave the octagon before erupting into tears.
The highlight was when Jones said Cormier looks like a crackhead. “Why was I so upset when he was throwing everything away?” I thought I was going to freaking meet this guy and I thought we were going to be cool.
Where Cormier was able to score some points was in the clinch game. The UFC deemed this incident as a breach of the Athlete Code of Conduct Policy and stripped the UFC light heavyweight championship from Jon Jones before suspending him indefinitely. As long as you never quit, it’s never over.
Cormier has lampooned and criticized Jones with each mistake, but only because he sees Jones making the mistakes that he has avoided. Cormier is an Olympic wrestler that likes to grind out opponents with his grappling and endurance. To which Lesnar told the Associated Press: “Would I fight Jon Jones?
‘That’s just the type of person I am, I’m reactionary’. “He just so happened to come into this sport and he’s 39-years-old and is f–ing with a guy who’s in his prime, a guy who honestly believes this is his era and does everything in his power to make it his era”. “Obviously, as a champion in the public eye, you’ve got to keep a certain standard of integrity, but ultimately, it all comes back to fighting”. You’ve got to avoid those traps. “It’s the last thing for me to do, and yeah, it’s important”. “My family, my training, my jobs”. This led to a one year suspension of Jones by the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the Nevada State Athletic Commision. Daniel Cormier will look to get Jones down and dominate him with disciplined ground and pound. I stared having fun and partying, and (I was) still winning.
Cormier finally has a way to win this Saturday, but he is an underdog.
Jones had last fought in April of 2016, decisioning Ovince St.
Their animosity hasn’t cooled, either.
“DC is a model husband, a model father, and a great champion”, Jones said.